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REYKJAVIK IS NOT THE SORT OF PLACE YOU GO TO FOR THE FOOD. You go to Mumbai for the food, and you go to Taiwan for the food, you go to Reykjavik for the wildlife and the nightlife, in that order of importance. As the Guardian newspaper once reported regarding Iceland food and the Icelandic dining scene in general:

Do you have a taste for rancid blue cheese, but find it can be improved by the added tang of rotten fish? Then try Iceland's great speciality, Hakarl - putrefied shark. Hungry Icelanders found that the uremic acid that renders raw Greenland shark inedible could be removed by burying the meat in gravel for a few months, producing a sort of piscine Jerky with an ammoniac stench so powerful it could blow the doors off a Transit van. If your courage fails you, you could sample Iceland's milder delicacies, such as sheep's head jam, mutton smoked in its own dung, or rams' testicles. To be fair, Iceland's traditional fare reflects its punishing sub-arctic environment more than its inhabitants' warped taste buds. Sadly, though, when it comes to eating out, modern Icelanders have too often replaced stringy puffin or wind-dried cod with grindingly insipid versions of international staples: flabby frankfurters, cardboardy pizzas, admittedly wonderful sushi and sweet, bland curries that resemble nursery puddings. It is enough to make anyone long for a slice of smoked blubber.

The last time I went to Iceland, my diet consisted of nothing more exciting than hot dogs and hamburgers and the mysteriously named drekka samloka ("dragon sandwich"), which I enjoyed at my buddy's corner store in the heart of the capital. That was cool, because I knew I wasn't in Reykjavik for the food -- I was there for the kick ass music and the Midnight Sun! The first time I went to Iceland, I couldn't afford to eat anything at all! That said, if you have the money, there are some gourmet options in the country -- mostly in Reykjavik, but also in other towns and villages. Those gourmet options are cheaper than they ever were. Even The Guardian is getting wise to this. Charlotte Northedge reported on January 30 2010: "People come to Iceland for the eerily spectacular scenery, the geothermal spas, the famed Reykjavik nightlife – but not usually for the ­cuisine. Yet Iceland prides itself on local produce, and with the krona at less than half its pre-crash value, the fine dining scene here is suddenly more affordable."
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If you are living in Iceland, or planning to visit for a holiday, it is interesting to take part in all the seasonal festivities which happen here. For example, there is Thorri, a Viking festival held on the Friday in the 13th week of the year. Each February Perlan (one of Reykjavik's most important sites) hosts a Thorri Day of its own for 200 guests. An hour's walk about Öskjuhlíð is followed by servings of hot cocoa and rum, after which a banquet is held with traditional food as it was prepared a thousand years ago. Thorlaksmessa, held two days before Christmas in honor of Iceland's native saint, is another festival you could experience if you were so inclined.

Aðal Braut:
Víkurbraut 31 | 240 Grindavík | Sími: 426 7222 | Web: adalbrautin-e.ecweb.is/fyrirtaekid/.
If you travel around Iceland, sooner or later you will find yourself dining at a gasoline station such as this one, which might be the only place serving hot food for miles and miles around. It is pretty much the classic Icelandic gas station, serving classic Icelandic road food: think hot dogs, sandwiches which fall apart in your hands, fries and little tubs of ketchup and mustard. Featuring a grill, ice (this being Iceland after all), candy and Cola... what more could you want if you were in Keflavik? This is Iceland food at its most basic and while it might be junk and bad for you, it tastes so good and fills you up!

Amigos Mexican Cantina:
Lækjargötu 6 | 101 Reykjavík | Sími: 511 1333 | Web: www.4x4.is/others/amigos/.
As a writer at GoNomad has pointed out: "Many Mexican restaurants are in city center. But don't expect the same type of Mexican food you are accustomed to. The special Iceland touch with sauces on very thick homemade dough makes this well-worth tasting. The Mexican fare is at reasonable prices, from $5 for a taco and up."
Amigos Mexican Cantina is one of those many Mexican restaurants in the city. Whether it is authentic real Mexican food, or Mexican food filtered through an Icelandic lens, I don't know, because I have never actually visited the place.

Apótek Bar Grill:
Pósthússtræti 7 | 101 Reykjavík | Sími: 562 4455 | Web: http://www.veitingar.is.
Apotek Bar-Grill is one of the newest restaurants in Reykjavík.
The building at Austurstræti 16 formerly housed the pharmacy Reykjavíkurapótek, which lent the restaurant its name.
The food at this place is not cheap -- but this is Iceland after all, what did you expect? The maki sushi on the menu (basically rice and seafood type stuff wrapped in seaweed) will set you back 300Kr a plate, which is about five times what you would expect to pay for the same thing in Tokyo (but I guess this is not Japan!) Grilled flounder with fried noodle cake and ponzu-noisette sauce goes for 2860Kr, while the salted cod with cardamom sauce, mashed potatoes and bacon is a steal at 2990Kr (equal to the cost of about six big glasses of beer in a swinging Reykjavik bar!)

Argentína Steikhús:
Barónsstíg 11a | Reykjavík 101 | Sími: 551 9555 | Web: www.argentina.is.
According to the official homepage: "Argentina Steakhouse opened 1989 and has since been one of the most popular restaurants in Iceland... in the wooden panelled passageway to the restaurant you can detect the southern atmosphere that awaits you inside. In the lobby, the wild South-American vibes of the decoration and demeanour hits you. At the reception, the dancing red flames in the fireplace keep the guests warm and the leather sofas and chairs promise comfort."
You might have dined on steaks in other parts of the world, but this restaurant offers some unique tastes and flavors. For example, Icelandic ox. Quoting from the restaurant's website again: "The Icelandic ox has remained unchanged since the time of the settlers, over 1000 years ago. It is smaller than elsewhere and renowned for its quality as the body develops slowly, making the meat more stable and the muscles finer so that there is more time for fat to build up. Fat is absolutely necessary for the meat to grill perfectly and for the steak to turn out succulent and tender. On the menu, you can also find wide selection of seafood and the very tender Icelandic lamb."

Brautarstöðin Grill: Ármúla 42 | 108 Reykjavík | Sími: 588 3090 | Email: pjakkus@simnet.is.
Brautarstöðin is a combination of a fast food restaurant, ice cream shop and the typical Icelandic ,,sjoppa" (candy store). The fast food is fast and rather good and the price is also rather good. The atmosphere is brilliant, lots of magasines and newspapers, plastic bugs on the walls, nice pictures of trains everywhere (Brautarstöðin means in english; The Train Station), and usually there is a movie, TV show or more..

Cafe Victor: Hafnarstræti 1-3 | 101 Reykjavík | Sími: 561 9555 | Web: www.cafevictor.is.
Kjötsúpa ("lamb soup") is for most Icelanders THE Icelandic soup, even though similar soups can be found in other countries. Formerly this soup was often served on Christmas Eve but later it became more of an everyday soup. Rutabagas, potatoes, and carrots are the traditional vegetables but every housewife used to have her very own recipe for it. If you don't have access to an Icelandic housewife while you are in Iceland, there are some restaurants where Kjötsúpa is on the menu. Cafe Victor in downtown Reykjavik is one of those. As the cafe's website points out: "If you are looking for an excellent meal at a reasonable price whether lamb, fish, chicken, beef or salad, café Victor is the place, where you get a good value for your money! Café Victor is located in an historic building on the square Ingólfstorg, at nights, the café transforms into a mixture of a café and a bar, at werkends café Victor is a popular dance club from midnight till dawn, with no entrance fee."
The menu ranges from English breakfasts (1590Kr.) to nachos with cheese and salsa sauce (650Kr.) to hamburgers and soups and sandwiches. There are noodles from two continents: stir-fried noodles with chicken, vegetables and oyster sauce (1380Kr.) representing the Orient, and linguini pasta with assorted seafood, homemade pesto and garlic (1650Kr.) representing the Occident. If you visit Cafe Victor as part of a group, you can take advantage of the group menu, which sometimes includes Kjötsúpa -- and offers you that chance you need to taste authentic homecooked Icelandic cuisine.

Fiskbúðin Kolaportinu:
Down near the harbor | Reykjavik | Sími: | Web: www.fiskur.is.
This isn't a restaurant of course but the fish market for the funky Kolaport flea market, open every Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 5pm, down near the harbor. Fiskbúðin evidently means "fish market" in Icelandic, and Kolaportinu definitely means "bargain". Even more so since the Credit Crunch -- no doubt there are plenty of Icelanders selling off their famiy heirlooms at the flea market, trying to rustle up some capital. I can sympathize with them. As my gateway to Reykjavik Iceland Express describes the place: "Imagine a huge undercover car boot sale, dotted around with stalls that resemble the back of Delboy Trotter's Reliant Robin, the scent of rotting fish alluringly mixed with body odour and throw in a grubby café, acting as the city's Grey Army HQ.
"Doesn't really sound appealing. Yet, the Kolaport has a magical pull that ensures it's more or less full of bargain hunters every weekend.
"If you shop in Gucci and have a weekly manicure the Kolaport is not, repeat not, the place for you. If however you like being enticed to buy stuff you don't need, enjoy charity shopping or need some of that controversial whale meat, come on down.
"It's a great place for bargain vintage clothing either from one of the regular stalls or from the people there on a one-off clearing their storage space..."
Whoa whoa steady on there! -- let's rewind a tad. What was that about whale meat again? Further down in their blog, Iceland Express reports: "One of the best parts of the Kolaport is the fish market. It's where you can buy all of the Icelandic fishy treats you would ever want. As well as good old regular fresh fish, you can get regular fresh Harðfiskur -- the traditional dried fish -- and if that's too traditional for you there's also lots of whale meat, and rotten shark..."

Fljótt og Gott: Vatnsmýrarvegi 10 | 101 Reykjavik | Sími: 562 1011 | Web: www.bsi.is/.
This restaurant is located inside Reykjavik's BSÍ eða intercity bus terminal, and comes recommended, especially if you want to eat hearty home-style Icelandic food. The kind of food Icelanders eat at home on cold rainy Sunday evenings. On my last trip to Iceland in 2006 I was looking forward to eating here, but unfortunately I ran out of two important preconditions for this opportunity: time and money. However, I have heard from reliable sources that "Mostly everything that can be called Icelandic is there for a nice price, including pastries such as kleinur and marmarakaka, and even other sweet things such as sheep's head with jelly. And if you want to taste what most Icelanders ate at home and school then you can try meat soup, fish (meat) balls, beef mince with sunny-side-up eggs, saltkjöt and baunir and lamb chops."

Fylgifiskar: .
This is what National Geographic reported: ""Twenty years ago, Iceland was struggling, economically and gastronomically," explains Guðbjörg Logadóttir, ice-blue-eyed proprietor of the sleek fish luncheonette Fylgifiskar. "We're not struggling anymore. No more boiled haddock and lamb fat. We have the best fish in the world, and we know how to cook it." Fylgifiskar is a new-generation fish deli (marinating fishes await: salmon in mint and garlic, trout in Thai spices, Arctic char in coriander and sesame) that serves a daily lunch special."

Galileó: Hafnarstræti 1-3 | 101 Reykjavík | Sími: 5529500 | Web: www.galileo.is.
Galielo is an Italian restaurant and pizzeria, situated in the Falcon house, one of Reykjavik's oldest houses, right in the city center by Inghólftorg square. Items on the menu include Salmone "Li" (horseradish and redbeet gravel lax, brioche toast and aioli) and Intingdo di pesce
(fishsoup, smoked haddock, and clams) in the starter department, Tagliatelle agli scampi
(tagliatelle and lobster with tomatoes and garlic) and Linguini del Pescatore
(linguini and tunafish with garlic, chili and capers) in the mains section. There are also plenty of pizzas, which probably makes it a hit with the pizzahappy Icelanders. They even have a lobster pizza at this restaurant, which should make it a hit with any lobsterhappy foreigners!

Hornið: Reykjavik.
The Internet Is Boring site reports thus: "After wandering around for a bit, we arrived at a place called Hornið, a relatively small restaurant with big windows and reasonable prices. If you want a very good meal without spending an obscene amount of money, I recommend this (Lonely Planet doesn't mention it, but it's just a block or so to the west of the Læketor bus station downtown). I had sauteed cod in a tomato and olive sauce, served over linguine with an assortment of grilled fresh vegetables, and Tyrrell had grilled salmon with capers, served in a similar manner. The fish was fresh and perfectly cooked, and the sauces for both were flavorful, but not overpowering. The vegetables, unlike some others I had encountered in Iceland, were not frightening at all, but were very good."

Múlakaffi: Hallarmúla | 108 Reykjavík | Sími: 553 7737 | Web: www.mulakaffi.is/ | mulakaffi@mulakaffi.is.
This local institution was opened about 40 years ago by Stefán Ólafsson. It is now run by his son Jóhannes. The place is open from 7.30am to 8pm on workdays, 7.30am to 2 pm on Saturdays and from 11am to 8pm on Sundays. Located quite close to Laugardalur Park, one of my favorite parts of the city, and famous for such working class specialities as salted cod and roast pork, for under about 1000 Kr. a meal. If you are staying at the Youth Hostel and want to taste real Iceland food when you are in Iceland, walk over to this place.
As Blesöndin wrote on his/her website: "Í dag fór ég í Múlakaffi og borðaði þorramat, reyndar ekki allan þennan súra viðbjóð og sviðakjammana, hætti mér ekki strax í það."

Nonnabiti:
Nonnabiti is the top manufacturer of what more advanced cultures call submarine sandwiches. It closes later than most restaurants here, which means 2 a.m. weekdays and 6 a.m. weekends, so it's a favorite of pub crawlers. (Get a dollar off before 1:30 p.m.) The big, greasy boats have a unique taste due to Nonni's sauce, which he invented--only he and his wife, Björk (no, not her), know the recipe. Try the lamb or fish boat ($10), or a holiday boat, with smoked pork, if you're in around Christmas or Easter. Hafnarstræti 11, 011-354/551-2312.

Perlan Restaurant: Perlan | 101 Reykjavík | Sími: 562 0200
| Web: www.perlan.is/.
The most famous building in Iceland, and home to one of the finest restaurants. The restaurant at the moment boasts three menus: the Gourmet Fish Menu, the
Gourmet Wild Game Menu, and the A la Carte 2006 menu. If you choose the Gourmet Fish Menu (5,950 ISK) you will receive a spread of Cream Of Lobster
(with Madeira and grilled lobster tails), smoked scallops with butter fried spring onions and cauliflower pure, fish fresh from the market, and a milk chocolate mousse. For 5,950 ISK the game menu will give you Salmon Tartar (with cream fraiche and scrambled eggs), smoked scallops, venison and the aforementioned milk chocolate mousse.

Pitan:
Skipholti 50c | 101 Reykjavík | Sími: 5629090 | Web: www.pitan.is.
This is a Middle Eastern themed restaurant and takeout joint which also features some of those great Icelandic staples: namely hamburgers, steaks and fishes (and hefty side orders of fries.) A holiday in Iceland can give anyone an overdose of fat and calories... if you want to avoid that, then avoid Pitan at any cost. If you are cool with great slabs of meat and melting cheese and crispy fried potato, then Pitan is the place for you! As in many other Icelandic restaurants, hamburgers are presented by weight. Weighing up on the Pitan menu include the Hamborgari Mexicana (Mexican Burger), boasting 94 or 140 grams of nautabuff, hamborgarabrauð, iceberg (that's a lettuce), nachos and salsasósa (good old salsa sauce.) That little beauty will cost you 550Kr or 575Kr, depending on the grammage. There are also steaks and fish dishes. Nonetheless, pita bread concoctions are the speciality here, and this Middle Eastern favorite gets a bit of an Icelandic touch (for example, Icelandic lamb features prominently.) There are also kebabs.

Restaurant ZooBar: Klapparstígur 38 | 101 Reykjavík | Sími: 551 7760.
Located in the same space as the old Pasta Basta. According to the intrepid Iceland Guest: "The cuisine at the RestaurantZooBar brings a strong breath of international flavour. The ambitious head chef, Jónas Ólafsson has for the last 15 years travelled throughout the world and both studied and practiced culinary art in different continents. His precious experience has gained him strong skillfulness and widespread reputation which is now unified with the reputation of The RestaurantZooBar.
"As you can expect, the menu is enfolded with diverse food traditions from all over the world. Guests can choose between tempting and seasonal courses from countries such as France, Italy, Australia, Thailand along with creole-food from the southern states of USA. The ingredients are truly amazing. Apart from extraordinary sauces made from exotic fruits and vegetables, the raw-material is coming from animals such as ostriches, kangaroos, reindeers and many kinds of unfamiliar fish species.
"Although the menu is diverse and international, the head chef Jónas, has not forgotten his origins as an icelander. One of the main specialties of the house is the traditional Sunday leg of a lamb which is served in whole piece with a brown sauce, sugar potatoes, homemade red cabbages, green peas and vegetables. It is only served for four people or more and it has to be ordered with a day in advance.
"On weekends The RestaurantZooBar is pretty lively place. As the night turns on, the tables of the glass-house room are removed and the restaurant floor turns into a classic disco floor. The second floor changes into lounge room, with a laid-back ambience feeling. A VIP room on the top floor can also be arranged."

Serrano:
Stjörnutorg - Kringlunni | Reykjavík 101 | Sími: 551 1754 | Web: www.serano.is.
Located in Iceland's most popular mall, this place basically does tacos and burritos and so on. There are some variations on the general Mexican theme, a Thai burrito (saturated with satay sauce) on the menu, for example. But basically it is standard Mall Mexican... expect to pay around 700Kr. for the burritos, 700Kr. for a plate of four tacos, and 700Kr. for the jumbo sized nachos.
Some facts about Serrano: Their chicken burritos contain only 3 per cent fat. Eat that chicken burrito with beans and you will consume 11 grams of fibre. This food is as healthy as it is delicious. If you visit Kringlan Shopping Mall, you might as well check this place out. Visiting Iceland in 1999, Israeli adventurer Nir Halman wrote: "With all the respect we have for the Icelandic supermarkets the climax is certainly the Kringlan modern shopping mall in Reykjavik. It is a very elegant shopping mall (like "Canyon Ramat Aviv" in Israel) where there are so many shops! Every time we are in Reykjavik we don't skip on a "tour" in this shopping mall ! They have there a fancy supermarket with BBQ chicken ready to eat, imported Swiss and French cheeses and other delicatessen... and when the "Utsala" (sales) is going on, it is for us almost like paradise...

Sowieso: Lækjargata 2a | 101 Reykjavík | Sími: 517 5020.
According to the fairly exhaustive guide to Reykjavik's restaurants at Iceland Guest: "Sowieso's speciality is lobster, but it also has a small courses menu including lamb, beef and chicken courses, and a tempting sushi menu. Their ambition is to offer customers high-quality cuisine at truly reasonable prices."

SUfistinn Kaffi & Te: Strandgata 9 | Hafnarfirði | Phone: 5653740.
This place boasts freshly roasted coffee and teas from all over the world. Quick delicious lunches and incredible cakes are also said to be available.
The cafe is the partner of the Sufistinn Book Cafe in the heart of downtown Reykjavik.

Tapasbarinn: Vesturgata 3 | 101 Reykjavík | Sími: 551 2344.
Tapasbarinn is an extremely lively restaurant where Spain meets Iceland in the cuisine. It is located in a cellar at Vesturgata 3 in Reykjavik's central. Eating tapas means dining without to much regard to rules and schedules and the menu shows that everything is possible. Tapasbarinn offers over 50 different meat, fish and vegetable dishes so you can take your time and experiment with many kinds of different dishes, which makes the dinner even more fun and enjoyable if you are with a group. But if you find it hard to choose you can order the special Tapas-selection. The restaurant has been open since the year 2000 and has become a popular place with the Icelandic crowd. It's breezy atmosphere and the Spanish effects in the decorations make Tapasbarinn ideal for an excellent evening.

Tveir fiskar: Hafnarbúðir /Geirsgata 9 | 101 Reykjavík | Sími: 511 3474 | Web: www.restaurant.is/.
This is one of the more famous seafood joints in Reykjavik, located near the city harbour, with a view over the marina. The name means literally "Two Fishes"... if you spend time in Iceland you might other restaurants with names like "Five Fishes" or "Three Something-Or-Another's" or "Four Blah Blah Blah's". If you have ever had a hankering for dolphin flesh, this could be one of the few places in the world you can upon it (although dolphin meat does make it accidentally into the Japanese whale meat market, or so I have been told.) Reykjavik's great Grapevine magazine reviewed Tveir Fiskar, and this is what they had to say: "As it turns out, raw dolphin carpaccio is really quite good. It was prepared just like the more traditional beef variety, and the combination of flavours was exciting but not as "different" as one might expect. The other starter, a bouillabaisse seafood soup, was good but a bit on the greasy side. This is a definite trend in Icelandic seafood cuisine of late, but excessive oil can sometimes make a soup too demanding to properly serve as a starter.
"Our main courses were salted fish (bacalao) in almond and parmigiano crust with tomato vinaigrette, and lobster in garlic, respectively. The fish was quite different from what Icelanders think of when you say salted fish – and that is a very good thing indeed. The dish had a pronounced Mediterranean feel. The lobster, or langoustine for the purists, was served "the old way", according to the menu. That consists of garlic butter, various unnamed spices, and bread. Considering the ingredients and the class of the restaurant, the result was unsurprisingly delicious. "

Þrír Frakkar: Reykjavik.
A poster on The Amateur Gorumet visited this restaurant and wrote: "Another really nice restaurant in Reykjavik without such an extraordinary price tag but good whale dishes and a bust of Clark Gable is Þrír Frakkar. I heard another winter specialty (which I did not get to try because it was summer when I was there) is rotten skate. Someone once must have thought it a good idea to leave skate uncooled in a bucket in the garage for multiple weeks until it rots and ferments (why it even does this at subzero temps is beyond me...) and then eat it. Catch is, it reeks so terribly that people apparently don't dare take it inside the house. Garage picnic..."

Vín & Skel: Laugavegur 55 | 101 Reykjavík | Sími: 534 4700 | Web: www.vinogskel.is/.
Vín og Skel (Wine & Shell) is literally what you get at this establishment -- the place is a tribute to the humble shellfish, and you can drink wine as you eat. There are oysters from France, clams from Peru, mussels from Ireland and lobster and scallops from the heaving seas of Iceland. According to one report, the shellfish soup is tasty and delicious. Meatcourse is chicken cassoulet which is simular to the world famous cock au vine.
A main course of Kræklingur ("mussels") costs 1990Kr. The main saltfish dish goes for 2890Kr. and if you are not troubled by the thought of eating cetaceans, try the Splunkunýtt Hrefnukjöt "Teriyaki" (teriyaki Minke whale), priced at 2340Kr.